Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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"I'm sorry, Professor Oren."
Kyle stood still. "New students aren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest. I think we should head back to the castle."
"Following the rules is good, but sometimes it's unnecessary to be too rigid, Kyle," Professor Oren said with a smile. "That would make you miss out on a lot of interesting things."
"That won't do." Kyle shook his head. "If Professor McGonagall finds out, we'll be expelled."
"It's not that serious. Minerva was just trying to scare you. Besides, I'm here."
Professor Oren placed one hand on his hip and extended the other towards the Forbidden Forest. "Come on, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, I allow you to come with me to the Forbidden Forest today to broaden your horizons."
...Okay, no need to guess anymore, Kyle felt he already knew who the person with the winged devil was.
Come to think of it, how could he possibly be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts without some kind of hidden identity?
Kyle hadn't been without suspicion of Oren, or rather, he'd started to suspect the professor's flippant nature ever since he'd read about it in the newspapers months ago.
But he'd subtly inquired with Professor McGonagall and learned that Oren had taken up his post in July, while the group smuggling magical creatures hadn't entered the country until the end of August.
That's almost a two-month gap, giving Professor Oren a near-perfect alibi.
How did he manage that…
Kyle thought to himself, but this time, he didn't say anything to refuse.
Because Professor Oren's hand was resting on his wand at his waist, easily withdrawn with a flick of his finger.
It was this gesture that convinced Kyle that he was the "mysterious man."
This was practically a blatant threat.
"Alright," Kyle shrugged, "Since the professor allows it, then there's no problem."
"A wise choice." Professor Oren raised an eyebrow.
Kyle took two steps forward, then seemed to suddenly remember something, turning to Kanna and saying, "Oh, right, I just remembered I forgot the jerky I prepared for Fluffy. Could you please bring it to me? It's on the table in the common room; you'll see it as soon as you come in."
"Hmm… okay."
Kanna felt Kyle's words were a little strange, but she didn't think much of it and turned to walk towards the castle.
Professor Oren didn't say anything more; it seemed his target had always been Kyle alone.
Seeing this, Kyle breathed a slight sigh of relief. In any case, at least Kanna was safe…
Just then, an unexpected event occurred.
The mouse named Pochi suddenly jumped out of Kanna's pocket and started running quickly towards the Forbidden Forest.
"Pochi… come back!"
Kanna cried out, chasing after it without thinking.
Because it happened so suddenly, Kyle didn't have time to stop her; Kanna had already chased Pochi into the Forbidden Forest.
"I…!"
Kyle's eyes twitched, but it was too late to say anything now. To prevent Kanna from having any accidents in the Forbidden Forest, he could only give chase.
The Forbidden Forest was densely wooded; it was impossible for a person to catch a mouse there.
Soon, Pochi disappeared from their sight.
Kyle caught up and grabbed Kanna, preventing her from going any further.
"You go back first!"
"But Pochi…"
"There's no time for that mouse now. You go back to the castle first!" Kyle pulled Kanna's arm, and just as he was about to forcibly drag her back, he turned around and saw Professor Oren standing behind him.
"I must criticize you, Kyle. You can't be so rude to a little witch. It's very ungentlemanly."
Professor Oren said calmly, "Let's go, let's help Miss Prince find her pet."
Kyle frowned, about to speak, when Professor Oren approached, bent down, and said with a smile, "Don't waste any more time, that's a magical mouse, it would be a shame if it got lost."
From Kyle's angle, he could clearly see that the tip of his wand was already pointed at Kanna.
"You're right." Kyle took a deep breath and chuckled dryly, "I'll listen to you."
"Good boy."
Led by Professor Oren, the three began to walk deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Along the way, Professor Oren seemed genuinely determined to find the mouse, constantly observing his surroundings.
When he encountered any aggressive magical creatures or spiders, he dutifully shooed them away.
The three walked for an unknown amount of time before Professor Oren suddenly spoke up, asking, "Kyle, Minerva said your Transfiguration grades are excellent. Have you considered studying Animagus?"
"No, Professor," Kyle replied calmly. "Animagus is a very advanced form of Transfiguration. It requires not only a vast amount of basic and advanced knowledge but also extremely precise control over magic. I'm still far from that level."
"Oh?"
Professor Oren used his wand to move a dead tree trunk blocking their path, teasingly remarking, "It seems you know a lot about Animagus."
"Professor McGonagall demonstrated it once during the first class," Kyle said. "I found it amazing, so I looked up some information about it in the library."
"Yes… a spell that can turn a person into an animal is indeed magical. Many wizards walking on the edge of light dream of learning it," Professor Oren said softly. "Animagus makes certain things much easier for them.
Because no one will suspect a cat, an insect, or even… a mouse.
That's why the Ministry of Magic requires every Animagus to register with their real name, although not many people are willing to do so.
Of course, that's the right thing to do.
If you learn to be an Animagus in the future, I don't recommend that you register."
At this moment, Professor Oren was speaking to Kyle in a gentle tone, as if he were in a classroom, imparting some wisdom.
"Professor, it's too early for you to tell me this now."
Kyle narrowed his eyes and said, "I'm only at the beginner level in Transfiguration. I probably won't be qualified to learn Animagus until after fifth year."
"No, I think you can next year."
Professor Oren glanced at Kyle out of the corner of his eye and said, "A person's talent and ability cannot be hidden, especially for a young wizard like you with little experience.
Although you performed very ordinary in my class, I noticed that your control over magic is very precise, and the spells you cast are very stable.
In other words, if you consider other young wizards' spells as a thread, then you are a wire.
Even if you intentionally reduce your magic output, you are only making the wire thinner, but the essence will not change.
Thread and wire are two different things, and anyone with a little knowledge can tell the difference at a glance."
"You probably haven't realized it yet,"
Professor Oren suddenly chuckled, "We professors have mentioned you more than once in private conversations, sharing our awful classroom performances.
Oh, and we even made a bet on how long you could keep it a secret.
Aurora, who wasn't involved, Minerva and Felius both thought it was third year, Pomona thought it was fifth year, and Severus… well, he was a bit vague, let's say seventh year."
Kyle felt like he'd been struck by lightning; a wave of intense shame washed over him.
Damn it, he'd always thought he was hiding it so well.
[End of the chapter]